Friend or Foe
by furi15
Summary: My first fic! slash warning ES A mistake from Emma's past and an old friend of Shalimar's threaten their family.
1. family life

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Except for Mia, Carly and Eden.  
  
Summary: Future Fic. Emma and Shalimar have been together for fifteen years with two kids. When one of Shalimar's old friends pops in for a visit trouble comes with her.  
  
Emma waited anxiously in her car for her daughters to come out of school. She smiled as she saw Eden come bounding down the steps. Eden was the youngest and except for the brown eyes and the fact that she was only four feet tall she looked just like Emma. Noticing the car the nine year old ran towards it and got inside giving her mother a kiss.   
  
" Eden, you know the rules." Emma said smiling.  
  
" But Carly isn't even here yet. I'll move to the back as soon as she gets here. Why do I have to sit in the back anyway?"  
  
" Because I said so, now go." She couldn't help but laugh as Eden lazily crawled between the two front seats and into the back. As soon as she'd buckled her seat belt Carly appeared. She just turned thirteen and looked just like Shalimar. She got in the car and slammed the door.   
  
" Hey, watch the door. Shalimar'd kill me if anything happened to her precious car." Emma said jokingly. All she recieved was a growl from the teen. "She'd also jump for joy if she heard you do that."  
  
"Do what?"   
  
"Groowwwll" Eden teased from the back. Carly rolled her eyes as Emma drove off. " I know why she's mad." Eden said smiling mischievously.   
  
" You better not be in my head or I'll..."  
  
" Eden, don't read your sister. And Carly, no death threats."  
  
" I don't have to read her. She's just mad because parent teacher conferences is coming up." At that Carly stiffened, and Emma noticed.   
  
" Is there something I should know?" Emma asked as she parked the car in front of their house.  
  
" No."   
  
" Are you sure?"  
  
" I said no!" Carly got out of the car and slammed the door shut again. Running into the house she slammed the front door too. Emma looked back at Eden. "Promise me that when you turn thirteen, you wont drive me nuts."  
  
"That's impossible."The little girl said." Your already nuts." She laughed as she got out of the car. Emma laughed too as they entered the house. Greeted by two black cats Emma looked around.   
  
"Looks like mom's not home." Eden said dropping her school bag on the floor. She plopped herself on the couch and turned on the tv.  
  
In the small gym/meditation room situated at the back of the house, Carly tried to meditate at Emma's small fountain but opted for Shalimar's punching bag instead. She punched away till her knuckles were bruising and her muscles could take no more. All in all she lasted a good ten minutes till she just let herself drop on the mat.  
  
" Wow, ten minutes, not bad. How do you feel?"  
  
" Like jello." Carly responded turning her head to see Shalimar walking in the room with a towel in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. She tried to get up but her arms were too shaky.  
  
" Wanna tell me what's wrong or are you up for round two?" She helped her daughter sit up and sat down next two her. Carly didn't look up. Shalimar passed her the water. Taking a sip Carly gave it back and let herself drop again.  
  
"Bad day?"  
  
"I don't want to talk about it."  
  
"Should I be worried?"  
  
"No." Before Shalimar could press the issue any farther she sensed Eden coming at her from behind full speed. Still seated she dodged the 'attack' and gently flipped the small girl over on the mat.   
  
" Awwe man!" She said whining as she sat up.  
  
"Maybe next time sweetie." Shalimar said smiling and the defeated expression on Eden's face.  
  
"Been home five minutes and you've got both of them on the floor already" Emma said from the doorway.  
  
" I didn't put them there.... Well, maybe one of them." She said laughing at Eden who crossed her arms and pouted.  
  
"The other one was there when I got home."  
  
"We have names you know." Carly said finally sitting up. "Where were you today anyway?" She asked her mother.  
  
" I was at Sanctuary helping Adam."  
  
"Did you beat anybody up on your way home?" Eden asked excitedly. Shalimar laughed.  
  
"No not today. Now I want you to go do your homework and Carly, to the kitchen so we can get some ice on those hands." Both girls groaned.   
  
To be continued........ 


	2. Enter Mia

"Mom, have you seen my backpack?!" Carly yelled as she searched under her bed then in her closet.  
  
"You left it in the gym!" Shalimar answered her getting back to her glass of milk.   
  
" We're going to be late!" Eden yelled up the stairs at her sister. "Mom, will you tell her to hurry up."  
  
"Hurry up!" Shalimar yelled putting her glass in the sink. Eden headed for the front door and opened it. There was a woman on the other side with her arm raised, Eden having just opened the door before she could knock.   
  
" Who are you?"   
  
" I'm looking for Shalimar Fox." The woman responded. Eden took a moment to take in her features. She had brown hair, brown eyes and stood at about 5' 6".   
  
"I'll go get her." Eden said closing the door again. Moments later Shalimar appeared.  
  
"Mia!" Shalimar shrieked giving the woman a hug. " Oh my god, come in. What the hell are you doing here."  
  
"Nice to see you too." Mia said laughing. " I was in the neighborhood and caught wind that you lived around here. You're pretty hard to track down Shelly. Took me a week to find you."   
  
" Come, sit down, make yourself at home." Shalimar lead her into the living room.  
  
" So, is she yours?" Mia asked sitting down.  
  
" Oh this is Eden." Shalimar said proudly holding her by the shoulders.  
  
"How old are you?" Mia asked her.  
  
"Nine."   
  
"Jeezus, Shelly has it been that long?"   
  
" Longer, her older sister's upstairs. Carly get down here!" Shalimar yelled toward the stairs. She looked at her watch and her eyes widened. " I'm so sorry but I've got to drop these two off at school. Can you stick around till I get back?"   
  
"Of course I can. Go do what you have to do I'll wait for you to get back." Just then Carly walked in and Mia's jaw dropped. Carly looked just like Shalimar.  
  
"What are you staring at?" Carly asked raising her eyebrows.  
  
"Manners." Shalimar said sternly.  
  
"Hi, I'm Carly. Who are you?"  
  
"Sorry for staring but you look just like your mother. When she was your age I mean. Mia, by the way. I'm Mia."   
  
"Okay everybody in the car." Shalimar said. "I'll be right back." They left leaving Mia alone. Taking advantage of having the house to herself, Mia took the oppurtunity to look around. She picked up a picture of Carly and Eden building a sandcastle at the beach when they were younger. She looked at another picture with Shalimar holding a newborn Eden and a three year old Carly looking at the baby over her shoulder. The next picture showed Emma smiling and holding out her arms to Carly who was just beginning to walk. " I knew I'd find you." Mia said bitterly placing the picture back on the coffee table. She glared at the photograph one more time before she stood up and left.  
  
To be continued... 


	3. I found you!

" Having to wake up at dawn is one thing, but leaving without seeing my kids is just cruel. This had better be important!" Emma said furiously walking into one of the safe houses. It took her two hours to get there and she hadn't even had her morning tea.   
  
"Good morning sunshine!" said Noah, one of the new Mutant X recruits. He always seemed to find joy in other peoples misery.   
  
"Shut up!" Emma hissed walking to the back. Noah always seemed to make her want to slam his face against a brick wall. She almost succeeded once, after he came onto her the first time she met him, but he phased right through the wall. She continued walking until she got to the kitchen where she was greeted by the scent of lemon tea, her favorite. She smiled at Sam, another recruit who lived at the house permanently as she handed her a mug.   
  
"How did you know?" Emma asked taking a small sip. Sam pointed at her own head and said, "Psionic remember."   
  
"So what's the big emergency that I had to drag myself out of bed before the birds for?" Emma asked her.  
  
"Three things." Sam held up three fingers. " First, we've got two elementals that need new identifications and backrounds."  
  
"That's nothing new. I'm not needed for that."  
  
"Second, there are four new psionics that need guidance, a little help here and there to help them block out everyones thoughts when they're in crowded areas."  
  
"Again, not needed for that. You can do it." Emma's patience was wearing thin.   
  
"And third, Adam wants you, Noah and Jesse to stake out some government facility place that may be helping to fund terrorists construct a new virus or something that could wipe out an entire city. I don't remember the whole thing since I tend to tune Adam out sometimes. I don't know why he just doesn't talk straight, not all of us are scientist you know. Anyway, ask Jesse or Noah about it they should know." Sam said finally taking a breath. She talked extraordinarily fast and sometimes Emma just couldn't keep up with her. Sam's a bit of a space case.  
  
"Couldn't you have just told me the last part first?"  
  
"The last part of what?"  
  
"Forget it. Where's Jesse?"  
  
"I don't know, but last I heard he was on his way here. Why? Don't want to talk to Noah?"  
  
"No one does. Call me when Jesse gets here. I'll be in the computer room." handing her the empty mug, Emma made her way to the computer room. She logged on and checked her messages. There were only two. One from Eden who would email her a good morning whenever she had to leave before she woke up for school. Those always brightened her day. The next one was from an unknown sender marked URGENT. Curiosity taking over, she opened it.   
  
The message read; Peek-a-Boo   
  
I found you.   
  
Welcome to hell!!  
  
Emma felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She tried to track down the email, but couldn't find who or where it was sent from. Everytime she tried an array of pop-ups with the words ' I found you! would cover up the screen. Emma shut off the monitor horrified at the messages. She new who they came from and that knowledge brought a feeling of terror and panic that she hadn't felt in nearly twenty years. She stood up and backed away from the computer.  
  
no this is a prank.. Emma thought. she's dead...I know she is, i saw her myself...she couldn't of survived......she didn't...she......she found me. She felt numb all of sudden and the oxygen in the room seemed to be rapidly decreasing . Then everything went black as Emma collapsed.  
  
To be continued...  
  
This seems like a good place to stop. Now for all that reviewed,  
  
Darkie - sorry another short chapter, but I promise the next one will be longer.  
  
ferae naturae - love your site. I'm a frequent visitor, practically live there. Sure you can put up my story, but only if you really want to.  
  
Crimson Cut - Mia's gonna mess something up. You'll find out why soon enough.  
  
EveryDarkBreath - Glad your enjoying it.  
  
Babylon 5 big fan - Hope you like this chapter as well. 


	4. Tell me!

"She's been out for about an hour after I called you" Sam told Shalimar. After finding Emma unconscious the first thing she did was call her. The feral had gotten there in record time with the help of her bike. She followed Sam to the small enfirmary. Emma was on one of the three small beds there. Sitting at the edge of the bed Shalimar stroked Emma's face gently and gave her a soft kiss on the temple.   
  
"She seems to be perfectly fine. Had I not found her on the floor I'd have thought that she just fell asleep."   
  
"How did this happen?" Shalimar asked finding a small bandaid near Emma's ear. Sam backed away a few feet before she started explaining.  
  
" Well you see, what happened was.....She told me to tell her when Jesse got here, because they were supposed to go on a mission. But he called to say Adam needed him for some other emergency, something about hostages or a train wreck or... Anyway I went to go give her the bad news. It's bad news because other than having to go with Jesse, she'd have to go with Noah. And let's face it, no one likes Noah especially Emma, so to her it would really be bad news and-"  
  
"Sam! Get to the point please."   
  
"Alright, alright, no need to get excited. So I ran to the computer room, where she was at the time, and I tried to open the door. But something was blocking it so I gave it a little push. It opened enough for me to stick my head inside to see what was going on. Then I found her on the floor." She said nervously.   
  
"You opened the door on her head!?"  
  
"Not intentionally--Hey! look she's waking up. I leave you two alone." Sam ran out of the room faster than Shalimar ever thought she could. She had to let out a small chuckle. Did Sam really think that she'd hurt her? After all she didn't put Emma on the floor. And it's not like she could've just walked through the damn thing. Bringing her attention back to Emma, she smiled as her eyes fluttered open.   
  
"Where am I?" She asked slowly sitting up.   
  
"In the enfirmary." Shalimar answered helping her.   
  
"Why?"  
  
"Sam says she found you on the computer room floor."  
  
"The computer room?" In a flash everything that happened hit her full force. The panic and terror she felt before was so intense that even Shalimar felt it. The ferals eyes instantly changed from brown to orange as waves of dread passed through her. It didn't take long for her to realize where they were coming from.   
  
"Emma what are you doing?" She asked still a little rattled. Emma was visibly shaking now. Wrapping her arms around her, Shalimar just held her. That's all it took for Emma to break down and cry.   
  
"What's wrong?" Shalimar asked confused and worried letting her eyes turn back to normal.  
  
"She's after me Shal. She found me."   
  
"What? Who's after you?"  
  
"Don't let her find me! She'll kill me!" Emma cried fiercely hanging on to Shalimar who was so bewildered she barely knew what to make of the situation. Then without warning, Emma pushed her away.   
  
"Where are the girls?" She asked Shalimar quickly getting off the bed.   
  
"They're in school. Emma you're not making any sense. Tell me who it is your talking about." she said following her.  
  
"We have to go get them before she does." Emma started for the door but Shalimar stood in her way.  
  
"What's going on!? You're acting like a crazy person. Who are you so afraid of? Who's trying to kill you?" She looked into Emma's eyes. The fear was still there mixed in with the unshed tears that she was blinking back.   
  
"Tell me! If our kids are in danger I have a right to know!" she pleaded taking her hand.   
  
"The night we met, the GSA wasn't the only thing I was running from."  
  
to be continued....   
  
I know I know, another short chapter, partly because I can barely keep my eyes open at the moment and also because this story just headed in a whole different direction than I originally intended. For those who are still reading, I will try to put up the next chapter as soon as possible. 


	5. They're not here

"Eden Fox DeLauro, Eden Fox Delauro, please report to the main office. Please report to the main office, your aunt is here to pick you up."   
  
"Eden, you heard the loudspeaker. Pick up your things and head over to the main office."   
  
Eden slowly packed her things. She didn't have any aunts or uncles to speak of. Except for Brennan and Jesse but they wouldn't pull her out of school. Maybe it was Sam from the safehouse. That couldn't be it either, Sam wasn't allowed to leave the safehouse unless it was being raided or she was going out for groceries.  
  
On her way to the door she paused as another announcement came on.  
  
"Carly Fox DeLauro, Carly Fox DeLauro, please report to the main office with your belongings. Please report to the main office."  
  
So Carly was being picked up too. She continued walking and couldn't think who it could possibly be. She turned the corner and headed down the stairs. Getting to the first floor, she saw a familiar mass of blonde curls also walking to the main office.   
  
"Carly! Wait up." Eden yelled running to catch up to her older sister. Carly turned around and waited for her.   
  
"Do you think it's mom?" Eden asked her.  
  
"No."  
  
"Then who?"  
  
"We're two feet from finding out." They entered the office and saw a woman standing there.   
  
"Hey, isn't that the woman from this morning?" Eden whispered.   
  
"Hey you two, are you ready to go? Okay then, come on your mom's waiting." Mia quickly ushered them out of the room then out of the building.   
  
"What are you doing here?" Carly asked stopping at the school entrance. Mia looked around to make sure no one was listening.   
  
"Your mom was in an accident and she called me to bring you to her."  
  
"What kind of accident?" Carly asked skeptically.   
  
"I'll explain on the way. Let's go, my car's over there." They followed Mia to her car and climbed in the back seat. They didn't see a reason not to, especially since she seemed to be good friends with Shalimar. Eden just wondered why Shalimar would call Mia and not Emma.

--------------------

"I was still a teenager. A stupid teenager. My friends and I had gone to a party and except for my friend Wendy we were all drunk out of our minds. The party was being held at a really old mansion . So of course we had to explore it. All I remember is us ending up in the attic where there was a ton of old swords and knives and guns from world war II or something. We started playing with the swords and guns. Wendy in the spirit of things played along. We got carried away and the 'fight' got serious. We were all so drunk that we didn't realize what happened until she was laying on the floor bleeding to death. None of us went for help and just stayed there frozen until she just stopped breathing." Emma's eyes began to water as she remembered what she did.   
  
"Why would something that happened so long ago put Carly and Eden in danger?" Shalimar asked wiping away a tear that Emma finally let fall.   
  
"Because she was pregnant at the time.We didn't know. She hadn't told any of us and she wasn't showing. Before she died she asked me to help her save her baby, that she didn't want to die. All I could do was stare at her, at what I'd done to her. Years later I was working at a phone company. I recieved a call from someone claiming that I had killed her baby." Emma was just letting the tears flow on their own.   
  
"I panicked and hung up the phone. After making some calls to my old friends two of them said they recieved similar calls. Then I recieved an e-mail telling me about a sword fight that had killed a baby. I still didn't think it was her. I thought it was probably one of the guys fooling around and being a jackass. Two weeks later I saw her. I was at the mall in the food court having lunch and she just sat down in front of me. I thought I was hallucinating. She said I let her baby die, and that she'd be sure to return the favor when I had kids of my own. She said that because of the wound her uterus was taken out and she'd never be able to have kids. And since she couldn't, she wouldn't let me. I told her it was an accident that I didn't mean for it to happen. Then she tried to kill me." Emma was sobbing so hard that she couldn't go on any longer. Shal wrapped her arms around her and held her tight.  
  
"She found me Shalimar. I thought I was safe but she found me." Emma said between sobs.  
  
"I'm not going to let her do anything to you, or our girls, do you understand me?"  
  
"We have to go get them, Shal. I just want to know they're safe."   
  
"Alright, let's go."

-----------------

"What do you mean they're not here!!" Shalimar shouted at the school secretary.  
  
"Well...Their aunt came to pick them up. She said that you were in an accident."  
  
"Aunt? They don't have an aunt! You let some stranger walk out of here with my kids?!!!!!!" Shalimar pulled the lady up by her collar. She was barely growling at her when Emma walked in.  
  
"Shal, what are you doing? We're here to pick up the girls not secretary's." Emma said pulling her back. Shalimar tensed. How was she supposed to tell the woman she loved that her greatest fear had come true just a few minutes ago?   
  
"What? What's wrong?"  
  
"They're....They're not...here." 


	6. It's not fair

'I knew I shouldn't have gotten into that stupid car! What a lame lie. 'Your mother was in an accident' Stupid stupid Carly!'  
  
Carly mentally kicked herself a few times. Mia drove them into a trap. When they'd reached their 'destination' she wouldn't let them out of the car. It started filling up with some type of gas. She tried kicking the window open, but by the time it started to crack Eden had passed out and Carly could no longer feel her legs.  
  
Now they were in some room with too much flourescent lighting with their arms tied to the ceiling. Their feet barely touched the floor and Carly could feel her wrists bruising. A few feet away from her, Eden was still unconscience, she was a little pale and her breathing was shallow. Carly reached out with her foot trying to nudge her awake.  
  
"Kicking her while she's down. Tsk tsk." A woman's voice said from behind her. "If I didn't know any better I'd think you were your mother." Carly whipped around and sucked in her breath at the sudden pain in her wrist. She had expected to see Mia but instead it was someone else.   
  
"Why don't you let me go and I'll show you how much like my mother I am." Carly shouted.  
  
"Well that doesn't sound like Emma at all. She'd try to figure out who I was first." The woman said crossing her arms and getting closer to take a better look at the girl.  
  
"Emma? What are you talking about?" Carly asked. She knew that she looked nothing like Emma except for the height thing. The woman didn't answer her question instead distracted by Eden who was slowly waking up.   
  
"Mom" she whispered opening her eyes and blinking rapidly at the bright lights.  
  
"Mommy isn't here right now. But if your a good little girl I'll let you give her a call." The woman said. Eden, still dazed, looked around and saw Carly with her hands tied over her head. She knew her hands were tied as well.  
  
"Who are you?" Carly asked glaring at her.  
  
"Well that's more like it. Let's play the name game shall we? My name is Wendy, and yours is?"  
  
"None of your business."  
  
"No no no. You don't understand the concept of the game." The woman walked around Eden and stood behind her.  
  
"Let's try this again. What's your name?" She quickly took hold of Eden's hair and wrenched it back until the small girl cried out in pain.  
  
"Pick on somebody your own size!" Carly said flashing her eyes and pulling at her bonds. The woman only tugged at Eden's hair again, this time tears fell from the little girls eyes.  
  
"Carly! My name is Carly!!" She said quickly seeing the pain Eden was going through.  
  
"Now that wasn't so hard now was it? Now it's your turn." She said turning Eden to face her.  
  
"Eden." she whimpered, trying to stop the tears from falling.  
  
"What do you want?" Carly asked feeling a little scared. She considered herself to be tough, but she was hanging off the ceiling like a slab of meat, watching her little sister cry. And it's worse when you don't know what the hell is going on.  
  
"What do I want? How very sweet of you to ask. A long long time ago, I wasn't as young as you are but I was having a baby. And your mother, Emma at least, killed that baby. And I don't think it's fair that she gets to have her baby when she took mine away from me. You don't look anything like her so I'm pretty sure you're not the one I'm after." Wendy turned away from Carly to face Eden. A wave of fear swept over and Eden went more pale than she already was.  
  
"Your lying." Carly said flatly. This woman was crazy. There was no way her mother could or would do such a thing. Wendy only needed to take a few steps to slap her hard across the face. Carly's watered and she heard Eden yelp. Without thinking she kicked her legs up sending Wendy sprawling to the floor. The woman stood up holding her side.  
  
"Didn't your mother teach you to respect your elders!!?" Wendy barked. "Mia get in here!!" Carly heard a door open then close and Mia appeared at the woman's side.   
  
"Tie her legs before I end up shooting her first!" Mia left the room and came back with a lock and chain.  
  
"My mom is going to kick your ass when she finds us."  
  
"Shut up and hold still." Mia said trying to keep herself from getting kicked in the face. "Just because you look like Shelly doesn't mean you have to act like her." She said finally getting a hold of Carly's left foot. Carly grunted as Mia finished. The chain added an extra five pounds to her already sore arms. She looked at Eden who was unusually quiet. Her sister had her eyes fixed on the ground, she smiled knowing what she was trying to do. At least she could try. Carly didn't have telepathy and Eden's was just coming around so she doubted that any message she was trying to send would make it out of the room. 


	7. Eden's fall

Getting all the information the school secretary could give them, Shalimar and Emma went straight to the safehouse. They asked Sam and Noah and anyone else who could help to start checking the mutant and criminal archives and database. They were instructed to look for a woman with long brown hair, brown eyes, 5'4"-5'6" and who weighed about 135lbs. As Shalimar searched herself, she started entering the information. The more she thought about it the more this woman seemed more familiar. She thought that it was such a weird coincidence. Her friend Mia fit those attributes. Thinking more and more about it, she began to wonder why Mia had left. It only took Shalimar fifteen minutes to drop the girls off. She put the thought behind her, there was no reason for Mia to take her girls. And she didn't know Emma so there was no connection there.  
  
Emma couldn't take it anymore. She had to do something. She could do something, she was just too frightened to do it. Making up her mind she headed toward the back stairs that led to the roof. Pushing the door open she stepped outside. Emma knew Eden's telepathy had started kicking about a week ago. She could feel it, Eden was trying so hard but all Emma recieved were small waves of fear and pain. They had to be close by. Sitting down on the hard floor she prepared herself. A cloud of black enveloped Emma's eyes and she went broadband. Her mind spiraled through thousands of voices and feelings as she tried to filter out the only two that mattered.  
  
------------------  
  
"Why don't you let her down? She's harmless. What harm can a nine year old do?" Carly asked. Mia looked at Wendy who in turn looked at Eden. She was still concentrating on the same spot in the floor.  
  
"What is she doing?" Wendy asked looking to Carly for answers.   
  
"She looks dead." Mia said walking up to her.  
  
"She is not dead, not yet at least. Take her down, I want Emma to hear her scream before she dies." Wendy said leaving the room. Mia did as she was told and took Eden down none too gently. She left her on the floor still tied and walked out after Wendy.  
  
"Aww man! I thought I felt her!" Eden said trying to sit up. "Why did you tell them to let me down?"  
  
"Why don't you start working on untying yourself so that you could untie me and then we can get the hell out of here?!"   
  
"Don't yell at me or I'll tell mom you cursed." Eden tried bringing her arms up to her face to try and pull at the rope with her teeth. They wouldn't move so she brought her head down to her wrists.  
  
"What are you doing?"   
  
"My arms fell asleep and now they wont move." She said starting at the rope again.  
  
--------------------  
  
"Honey, I think I found.....Emma? Have any of you seen Emma?" Shalimar asked standing up from the computer.  
  
"She went through the roof access." Sam said not looking away from her screen.  
  
"What? Why didn't you say something?" Shalimar yelled running to the stairs.  
  
"You didn't ask!" Sam yelled after her. "And I wouldn't go up there if I were you!" She added. Shalimar ignored her and continued on. Upon opening the door a rush of emotions and feelings, swept through her, knocking her off her feet and down the stairs. She fell back head first onto the bottom step. Hearing the loud thud, Sam ran to the stairs. She helped a disoriented Shalimar onto her feet. Her nose was bleeding and blood could be seen creeping through her hair.   
  
"What was that?" She asked cupping the back of her head.   
  
"That was Emma. She didn't do it on purpose. She's trying to find the girls." Sam explained.  
  
"What is she doing?" Shalimar asked still confused.   
  
"Something very dangerous." Sam said looking up at the open door. Being a psionic herself, Sam had felt Emma's mind open up in it's entirety. It felt like a migraine times ten and Sam had to do all she could not to shut herself off from the world.  
  
"We have to stop her." Shalimar said turning to go back up. Sam grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.  
  
"You don't know do you?" She asked.  
  
"Know what?"  
  
"With everything she's broadcasting, going up there could kill you." Sam said seriously. "She's the only one that could stop it now, so let's just go and get you cleaned up." she suggested trying to pull her back.  
  
"No, not until she comes back down." Shalimar said stubbornly. She leant against the railing putting pressure on her wound. Sam took out a tissue and wiped at her nose.  
  
"Give me that." Shal said annoyed taking the tissue with her free hand.   
  
"Just trying to help. So what did you find?" Sam asked only to recieve another confused glance. "What you were going to tell Emma before you fell on your ass. Don't ferals always land on their feet?" She teased.   
  
"You try landing on your feet when it feels like you've been shot in the head. And I was going to tell Emma that I got a lead off of this Wendy character. Apparently she didn't die. Her family owns a warehouse a few miles from here, and if that's where she took the girls, then that's where we're headed."  
  
"Anything on who took them from the school?"  
  
"No nothing." Shalimar said slowly.   
  
"Finally!" Sam exclaimed.   
  
"What?"   
  
"She's done. Let's go." They ran up the stairs in time to see Emma getting up off the floor with her hands on her head.   
  
"Emma!" Shalimar ran to her and hugged her like she hadn't seen her in days. "You had me so worried."   
  
"I found them." Emma said returning the hug.   
  
"Oh you guys!" Sam smiled hugging both of them.   
  
"Sam?"   
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Hugs over." Emma said trying to breathe. "Shal, what happened?" Emma asked noticing the blood in Shalimars hair, and the dry blood around her nose.   
  
"What this? It's nothing. Let's go get our kids. I think I know where Wendy's keeping them." Emma looked at her disbelievingly. She turned to Sam who looked up at the sky suddenly interested in a small cloud passing by.  
  
"Fine, but when this is all over I want some answers." She said eyeing the both of them.   
  
---------------------  
  
Taking off the last of the rope, Eden smiled triumphantly. 'Now if only the tingling in my arm would stop' she thought.  
  
"Great, now come untie me."   
  
"How do you expect me to reach that high?" Eden asked putting her hands on her hips. "Do you mind hanging around a few more minutes? Mom should be here soon. I'm gonna go see if there's a way out of here."   
  
"Are you crazy! Have you lost your mind! Incase you didn't hear those two psychos, they're after you."  
  
"So you want me to stay here and wait for them to kill me?"  
  
"Not necessarily, but what are you going to when they catch you? Hmm."  
  
"My legs aren't asleep. I'll run. And if I have to I'll hide. I'm small."  
  
"Get back here!" Carly yelled as Eden left the room.   
  
"This is it." Shalimar said stopping the car in front of the warehouse.  
  
"I hope so." Emma said getting out.   
  
Surprisingly, no one was guarding the door. Eden started down a hallway rubbing her wrists and looking for any exit signs. She had heard Emma's voice before, so some of her fears had dissipated. But she was still confused, and her head hurt from trying so hard and Wendy yanking it so roughly.  
  
She didn't have to look far. There was an exit sign at every corner. 'This is too easy.' Eden thought. She followed the signs regardless. It didn't take long before she found the front door. She paused, this was too easy. She was ready to turn around when she saw two familiar figures about fifty yards away. Her heart beat rapidly and she opened the door ran out to them.  
  
"I told you they'd come." Wendy said coming out from behind a door.   
  
"Mommy! Mommy!" Eden cried, running as fast as she could.  
  
"Eden!" Shalimar yelled running.  
  
"Where's Carly?" Emma asked running next to her.  
  
"I don't know?" Shalimar said worriedly.  
  
They were ten yards away from each other when a shot rang out.   
  
"Nooooooooo!!!!!!" they both screamed in horror as they watched their little girl fall.


	8. Pain

She tried not to cry. She'd fallen hard on her hands. The little bit of feral dna she had kicked in just in time. Eden didn't feel the bullet, but she saw it ricochet off the floor after it went straight through her. Emma and Shalimar reached her almost instantly. Shalimar scooped her up in her arms and they were doing all they could to control the bleeding. Shalimar called Adam on her ring, he said he'd get there in fifteen minutes.  
  
Eden was beginning to feel the pain and she almost started to panic when she saw the blood flowing freely. Emma looked at Shalimar. They had decided never to use their powers on their children, but then again, they never thought either of them would be in their arms bleeding and in pain from a gunshot wound. Shalimar nodded and Emma shut out the pain from Eden's mind.   
  
"Baby,"Shalimar said cupping Eden's face with her hand. "Where's Carly?" Eden looked at both their faces. They were crying. Something she'd never seen them do, unless they were watching a sad movie.  
  
"She's tied up in a room. All the walls are white." She told them.   
  
"Everythings going to be fine. I'm just going to go in and get Carly." Emma said beginning to stand.   
  
"Wait."Shalimar said grabbing her hand. "That woman has a gun. You can't go in there alone."  
  
"I have to. This is all my fault."  
  
"For all you know she could still be at the entrance just waiting for you to get close enough for a clear shot."  
  
"She's not. She would've done it already. You have to stay here and wait for Adam." Emma said trying to loosen herself from Shalimars grip. Eden tugged on Shalimar's jacket to get her attention.   
  
"The woman that came to our house this morning...She's in there." Eden said. Shalimar looked at her like she'd grown two heads.   
  
"What woman?" Emma asked.  
  
"Mia?" Shalimar asked not sure she heard correctly.  
  
"Yeah her."   
  
"Who's Mia?" Emma asked again.   
  
"An old friend. Or at least I thought she was."   
  
"We're wasting time! Carly's still in there." Emma said worriedly.   
  
"If you're not back by the time Adam get's here, I'm coming in after you." Shalimar said. She pulled Emma down and kissed her quickly before letting go. Emma took off running toward the building.   
  
-----------------------  
  
Carly began to panic when she heard the gun shot. As far as she knew, there were only three other people around, and Eden didn't have a gun. She tried with all her might but the restraints wouldn't budge. She could feel the rope cutting through her skin as drops of blood trickled down her arms.   
  
She heard the door open and Wendy and Mia walked in. Wendy was smirking but Mia looked a little shaken. Then Carly saw the gun in Wendy's hand. Tears poured out of her eyes as the realization of what she heard set in.   
  
"Oh don't look so sad. You'll see your sister soon. When Emma comes waltzing in here trying to 'save' you, she'll watch as I send you to hell where your sister will be waiting for you." Wendy said calmly cocking the gun.  
  
"LIAR!!!" Carly screamed, crying even harder.   
  
"And here I thought you'd be glad to be able to see your little sister again." Wendy said aiming. Carly shut her eyes tightly. They opened as quickly as they'd closed when she heard her mother's voice in her head. Emma told her to relax, that she wouldn't let Wendy hurt her. She must've felt her concern for Eden because Emma also told her that Eden was safe.  
  
Everyone was quiet as they heard footsteps outside the door. Wendy smiled and waited. The knob turned and Emma stepped inside.   
  
"Wendy, let her go. She has nothing to do with this." Emma said taking a step toward her.  
  
"She has everything to do with it!" Wendy shouted.   
  
"It was an accident Wendy. I never meant to hurt you."  
  
"You left me to die!! You could've gone for help but you left me to die!!! You killed my baby!!"  
  
"I didn't know. None of us knew. We were scared kids Wen, we thought we'd killed you."  
  
"Stop talking to me like you're my friend!"  
  
"Let her go. Take me instead but let her go. I'm the one you're after." Emma said taking another step closer.   
  
"No. I will not let you get away with what you did so easily. I want you to know what it feels like to feel the life of your child taken from you. Speaking of which, you don't look to distressed over Eden's fall, I guess I must've missed. Well I can't miss when I'm this close." Before she could pull the trigger Emma hit her with a psionic blast and Wendy went sprawling across the room.   
  
"Mom she's got the keys to the lock." Carly said motioning to Mia. Fumbling around in her pocket Mia found the key and tossed it to Emma.   
  
"How's Eden?"Carly asked sighing in relief as the weight was lifted off her feet.   
  
"She's hurt. But she'll be fine."Emma said untying the rope. Carly fell into her arms and Emma hugged her tight.  
  
"What were you thinking!!"She asked holding her at arms length. "Forget it. I can yell at you later. Now go, Shalimar's outside with Eden."  
  
"But mom,"   
  
"Go!" Emma said sternly. Carly ran out of the room.  
  
"What the hell did you do to me?" Wendy said coming back to her senses. She looked over at Mia who was frozen in the corner.   
  
"I did a lot of stupid things when I was young. And there's nothing I regret more than what I did to you."  
  
"Wow, thanks. I'm feeling a whole lot better, now I can go on with my life. Maybe I'll find someone, like you did. And then maybe I can have kids, you know, like you did. Do I look stupid to you? You have no idea what it feels like to lose somebody you've been waiting for your whole life!"  
  
"No, I don't. But I do know what it feels like to have lost a friend, and to be the cause of that loss. Wendy, you were my best friend and after what happened that night..."  
  
"You have no idea what happened that night!" Wendy shouted. She stood up off the ground and advanced on Emma.   
  
"I felt my baby's life slip away from me! For four months that baby lived inside me. It was a boy. I found out after they took his body out of me. I already had a name picked out for him." Wendy was crying hard and Emma could feel the pain radiating off her in tidal waves. The emotion was so strong that Emma herself had started crying.  
  
"Emmet, that was his name. Emily if it was girl. I decided I would name my baby after you, my best friend, and ask you to be his godmother. But all that went to hell!! I begged you to go for help! I told you I was pregnant. But you just let them pull you away. And you left me, just like that." Wendy sunk to her knees and cried, rocking herself back and forth. Emma knelt down and tried to comfort her.   
  
"It never goes away. The pain never stops. It's always there." Wendy whispered.   
  
"I can make it go away. If you want. I could make you forget, help you start over."Emma told her softly.  
  
"No, I don't want to forget him. I would rather forget everything else."Wendy said looking up at her hopefully. Emma took her head in her hands and looked her in the eyes.   
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes....And Emma, I'm sorry."Wendy said letting more tears fall.   
  
"All is forgotten." Emma hit her with a psionic blast that knocked her out.   
  
to be continued..... 


	9. Shalimar could've

Okay so it's a bit overdue…fine, fine a lot overdue and probably not the best chapter but it's all I got at the moment. So I present to you, chapter 9!

After making sure Eden was safely in Adams care, Shalimar ran to go find Emma. Within seconds Shalimar wrenched open the door and ran inside. She clenched her fists at the smell of blood. It belonged to Carly. She'd recognize it anywhere. Finding the white room she found Carly standing by the door looking in.

"Carly! Oh god I was so worried." She said enveloping her.

"Mom...your crushing me." Carly said wincing. She appreciated the hug but she was still in pain.

"I'm sorry, are you okay?" She said looking her over.

"Just a few cuts and bruises." She answered showing her wrists. Seeing the blood drying around her wrist and over her sneakers, Shalimar's eyes flashed orange for a brief moment.

Looking around the room she saw Emma leaning over an unconscious woman. Then she saw Mia standing terrified in a corner. Shalimar's eyes flashed again and a growl escaped her throat. She lunged for Mia. Shalimar threw her across the room and she landed hard on her back. The feral wasn't done. Mia stood up and tried to apologize but all she got was a fist across the jaw and then Shalimar grabbed her neck and slammed her against the wall.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't break your neck!" Shalimar growled.

"Because your kid is watching." Mia answered through a choke, clawing at Shalimar's hand. Shalimar looked back at Carly.

"She'll never look at you the same again." Mia tried again.

"Not good enough!" Shalimar shouted ready to hit her again.

"Shalimar no!" Emma said running to her. "We'll hand her over to the police. Let them deal with her." Emma said trying to loosen the feral's grip.

"That's not good enough! What are they going to do? Lock her up, feed her and give her a place to sleep? No, I think I'll kill her." She said tightening her grip.

"Shalimar please, you know this is wrong." Emma pleaded.

"Why are you taking this so lightly? She kidnapped and shot Eden!"

Shalimar said throwing Mia to the ground. "You see this!" Shalimar asked grabbing her own shirt. It was stained with blood. "This is our baby's blood!" She said showing Emma her own blood stained sleeves. "And you want me to hand her over? Have you lost your mind?"

"I want to strangle her just as much as you do Shal, but we don't kill people." Emma tried to explain, but before Shalimar could answer, Jesse and

Brennan came running in.

"Whoa. We came to help but I can see you don't need us." Jesse said looking over the scene.

"Is everything all right?" Brennan asked looking from Emma to Shalimar.

"Fine! You're right!" Shalimar said to Emma trying to let some of her anger subside. Mia stood up behind her and before they even saw it coming, Shalimar sent a fist flying towards Mia's face, knocking her out.

"Sorry, couldn't help it." She said storming off toward the exit.

At Sanctuary...

Carly winced as Emma changed her bandages before she went back to bed. It wasn't really all that painful but she didn't like seeing the dry blood or the bruises. All of it just made her nauseous. And she couldn't stop thinking about her mother Shalimar and the scene in the warehouse.

"What is it Carly?" Emma asked sensing her inner turmoil.

"What? Nothing….Well...something. Mom, Can I ask you something?" Carly asked looking at her newly bandaged wrist.

"Of course. You've always known you can ask me anything." Emma answered moving down to Carly's ankles.

"Well earlier, in the warehouse..." She paused.

"Yeah." Emma urged her to continue.

"Could mom really have...Well what I mean to say is, would mom really have of..." she paused again.

"Killed Mia?" Emma finished.

"Yeah." Carly sighed. Emma finished bandaging her ankle and jumped up on the exam table with Carly.

"Shalimar loves us all more than anyone can imagine." She started. "And sometimes, love can lead people to do things they really would never do otherwise." Emma said.

"Mom that was beautiful and all, but you didn't answer my question." Carly said.

"Well what do you think?" Emma asked trying to deflect the question.

"What? No fair I asked first." Carly insisted. Emma took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Shalimar could have, god knows she really wanted to." Emma said. "But, I don't think she would have. She doesn't have the heart for it." Emma said.

"I think you're wrong." Carly said. "I think she would've, if you didn't stop her. Maybe it was your heart that made her stop." Carly said carefully getting off the table so as not to hurt her already throbbing ankles. Emma jumped down and put the supplies away.

"Do you think Grandpa could give me something for the pain?" Carly asked changing the subject.

"I'm sure he's got a pill or something." Emma said.

"Pills? I hate swallowing those things! They always make me gag." Carly cried.

"Well then I'm sure he's got more than enough shots to give you instead." Emma smiled.

Carly grimaced. "I'll go get a glass of water." She sighed hobbling out of the room. As soon as she was out of ear shot Emma collapsed into tears, the events of the day finally catching up with her. She couldn't believe it all happened. At the end of the day it all seemed so surreal.

She just stood there sobbing onto the exam table letting everything sink in.

Shalimar was right; they could've lost their girls that day. And that thought alone sent her reeling. And the thoughts she had gotten from Carly didn't help much either. Ever since she was a baby, Carly was always somewhat afraid of Shalimar. Emma could never figure out why until today. Shalimar had really frightened her and Emma feared there wasn't much she could do. She didn't want to tell Shalimar that her own daughter was afraid of her ever since she'd started walking. She was crying so hard now that her throat was dry and she was hyperventilating. Sensing someone coming toward the room she tried to compose herself but the tears kept flowing. It was Brennan.

"Hey, hey what's wrong Em?" He ran to her side and enveloped her in a hug.

"What's wrong?" She asked pushing him away. "Well let's see," she said wiping her nose. "The girls were kidnapped, they were chained and hung off a ceiling, and Eden was SHOT! To top it all off it was all MY FAULT!" She cried pulling at her hair.

"Don't talk like that, it wasn't your fault." He said grabbing her wrists to try and keep her from pulling out her hair. "Come on Em you have to snap out of it. Eden is calling for you." He said. "Imagine if she saw you like this, what will she think? Now pull yourself together and go care for your kid!" He said cringing at his own words. He knew it must've sounded harsh but Eden needed her.

"Eden's calling for me?" She asked trying to keep her tears in check.

"Yes. And Shal is waiting for you too." He said wiping her face with a tissue.

"Tell them I'll be right there." She said taking the tissue from him.

"Sorry can't do that." He said. "promised Eden I'd take you to her myself."

"Okay." She said blowing her nose. "How do I look?" She asked running a hand through her hair.

"Like you survived a hurricane. But she doesn't care what you look like and neither will Eden." He said giving her a nudge. She smiled a little and wiped her eyes once last time before heading out. Brennan put his arm around her and led her to her daughter.

"Here she is kid." Brennan said bringing Emma into the infirmary. Eden lifted her head.

"Mommy! You came, you came!" She cried happily.

"Why wouldn't I come?" Emma asked trying to give her a hug as gently as possible.

"Yeah why wouldn't she come?" Carly asked from the bed beside her.

"None of your beeeeeswax!" Eden said from over her mother's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Does it hurt?"

"Nope. Don't feel a thing. Grandpa Adam put something in that water bag going into my arm and I can't feel a thing." She said smiling.

"Where's Shal?" Emma asked realizing the feral's absence.

"She said she needed to get some air." Eden giggled.

"Why is that so funny?" Emma asked.

"She said cats aren't supposed to be indoors for such a long time."

"That isn't even funny." Carly said rolling her eyes.

"Well if you'd let me finish! Then maybe I could get to the funny part!" Eden shouted across to Carly's bed.

"Then why don't you do that from the beginning so we don't have to listen to you talk for so long?" Carly asked teasing.

"Alright you two cut it out." Emma said glad to see that they were back to their usual selves.

"Hey mom, today when we were kidnapped, I tried to call you with my powers but I'm not strong enough yet and If I was maybe you would've heard me and…"

"Shh…You don't have to say anymore. You are strong enough and I did hear you. How'd you think we found you so fast?" Emma said smiling.

"You see! I told you I could do it!" Eden told Carly. "she said I couldn't do it." She whispered to her mother.

"Oh be quiet and go to sleep already. You haven't slept since you got off the helix." Carly said turning away from them and trying to sleep.

"So, you haven't slept either."

"Because you can't seem to stop talking!" Carly said pulling the covers over her head.

"Carly's right, it is time for bed." Emma said pulling tucking Eden in.

"But I'm not even tired."

"Oh yes you are." Emma said looking her in the eye.

"No fair." Eden said with a yawn. "That's cheating. I wanna say goodnight to mom first."

"You'll be up long enough to do that." Emma said giving her another kiss. Then she walked over to Carly's bed and pulled the covers off her head. Carly sat up and faced her.

"It's okay." Emma whispered pushing her hair behind her shoulders. "To be afraid."

"I'm sorry mom. I don't mean to be." Carly said hugging her.

"I know you don't sweetie." Emma said resting her head atop Carly's. "But we don't need to talk about it now. You should get your rest." Emma said laying her back down and tucking her in as well. She turned off the light and sat in one of the recliners in the corner of the room.

About two minutes later she heard the familiar sound of Shalimar's favorite shoes walking toward the room. And not a minute did Shalimar walk in the dark room heading toward Eden's bed.

"I waited to say goodnight and that I love you mom." Eden whispered as she hugged her mother. "I love you too." Shalimar whispered kissing her goodnight as she re-tucked her back into bed. And before she finished Eden had drifted off to sleep. She went over to Carly's bed and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"G'night mom." She heard her whisper.

"Goodnight baby." She said quietly heading back out.

"Shalimar." Emma said from the corner.

"I don't want to talk about this right now. It's late and I'm tired." The feral said continuing on.

"Shal wait." Emma said going after her. "I need us to talk about this." She said standing in front of her.

"I'm going to need more time to get past this Emma and if I talk to you right now, I'll say things that I'll regret in the morning and I'd rather not. So please just let me go." She said not looking at her. Emma stepped to the side and looked down at the floor. Shalimar continued walking.

"Goodnight Shal." She said walking back into the infirmary.

"Goodnight Emma." The feral said wiping away a tear from her eye and left Sanctuary.

To be continued...


End file.
